Updated, Feb. 6
Picture this: the weekend is fast approaching and you’re looking for the ever-elusive “something to do.” You’ve seen everything at Century 12 Evanston (even the CineArts stuff) and it’s just too cold to brave the commute to Chicago. Before you complain that there’s nothing to do, consider these two words: student theater.
Northwestern has one of the most vibrant theatrical communities in the state of Illinois, nay, the country, nay, the world. Northwestern puts on more theatrical productions annually than there are states in the U.S.A., with more than 40 in the Theatre and Interpretation Center (the academic hub of Northwestern’s theater and dance classes) alone, not to mention the numerous productions performed by various student groups on campus. That’s more than at some of the most well-known theater conservatories at colleges such as Carnegie Mellon (16 theatrical events in its season according to the 2008-09 season posted on its Web site) and the University of Michigan (five main stage shows and five student shows annually according to their drama major Web site). Clearly, Northwestern dominates student theater.
So stop complaining, because with all of the fun productions going on this quarter, you won’t even need to leave Evanston (which is nice when it’s so cold you don’t even want to shower for fear of feeling that slight breeze in the hallway). This winter quarter, there are 23 opportunities to feed your creative side and see a really great piece of theater, and there is a show to go to almost every week. So here it is, your “Idiot’s Guide” to all of the theatrical events occurring this winter at Northwestern. Go forth and be theater-y.
Due to an editing error, a draft version of this was published which contained errors, which have since been corrected. North By Northwestern regrets the error.
Update, Feb. 6: This piece has been updated to include three more shows: The Normal Heart, The Vagina Monologues and Twelfth Night.
Correction, Feb. 8: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly identified the grade of Cephalopod’s director, Emily Anderson. She is a sophomore, not a junior.
Correction, March 3: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly identified the grade of The Pinball’s director, Kelby Siddons. She is a junior, not a senior.